The value of a hob nob.....
Thursday, 17. July 2008, 15:04:41
There is something a foot in the confectionery industry. It seems not to be blowing very far, only in the Minnesota area of north America, but there is a little furore going on.
There is a row blowing through the North Star state about the ingredients of a small, not very tasty wafer. The particular wafer in question comes from a catholic church where, it is inferred, the wafer is is the body of christ, and not just a mixture of flour and water. and perhaps a little salt.
Philosopher PZ Myers tends not to agree and has written about it on his web page.
As often happens in debates / discussions / conversations about religion there is an assumption on the part of the 'believer' that, because they believe, which ever view they hold about a particular religious subject, trumps your own, perhaps contrary view, simply because they are religious and you are not. This is a view to which I personally do not subscribe and, to a certain extent, do not understand. One persons political views may differ wildly from another's [in fact, very often do, this is sometimes called the joy of politics!], one may like red wine, another white and lots of people really do not see the point of cricket. However, in all of these cases, there will often follow a healthy debate, some to-ing and fro-ing and which will either result in agreement of, in the case of cricket, blank apprehension about why anybody could possibly find this marvellous game event he slightest bit dull.
However, as soon as religion hits the market place of discussions items, some people do get very heated indeed. Personal insults, threats of violence and poor grammar are very often directed towards the person who even thinks about questions the very existence of anything even remotely holy. I wonder why this is ?
There seems to be a real deep seated insecurity about religion that must not be questioned, or, in some cases, even thought about questioning. For, if one were to question them it may turn out that the entire construct of religious belief may fall down about peoples feet. And, I'm told, this could not be allowed to happen.
So what of this wafer and the controversy surrounding it. Well, it seems that some people have become very offended by the suggestion that flour and water is just flour and water and is not in fact the body of christ. They feel that their monotheist world view s in danger of collapse and that, all costs, the body of christ, embodied literally in flour and water must be defended. To take a wafer out of a catholic church, without first eating it [is this not cannibalism ?] has been suggested is a hate crime. Yes, I know, It is not a typing error, catholic have suggested that taking a biscuit out of a church is a hate crime. It has also been suggested that not eating said wafer is the same as kidnapping and holding somebody as hostage. Again, no irony nor sarcasm intended. Not a jot.
When I read / hear this kind of twaddle, I start to understand why life is held with such little value. If people are going to put so much energy into protecting a biscuit, and said biscuit is given the same status as, perhaps, your spouse it is frightening to realise how little value the church and associate religious people do put on the value of life.
http://richarddawkins.net/article,2869,MnIndy-interview-Unrepentant-science-heathen-PZ-Myers-still-intends-to-prove-this-cracker-is-nothing,Minnesota-Independent
There is a row blowing through the North Star state about the ingredients of a small, not very tasty wafer. The particular wafer in question comes from a catholic church where, it is inferred, the wafer is is the body of christ, and not just a mixture of flour and water. and perhaps a little salt.
Philosopher PZ Myers tends not to agree and has written about it on his web page.
As often happens in debates / discussions / conversations about religion there is an assumption on the part of the 'believer' that, because they believe, which ever view they hold about a particular religious subject, trumps your own, perhaps contrary view, simply because they are religious and you are not. This is a view to which I personally do not subscribe and, to a certain extent, do not understand. One persons political views may differ wildly from another's [in fact, very often do, this is sometimes called the joy of politics!], one may like red wine, another white and lots of people really do not see the point of cricket. However, in all of these cases, there will often follow a healthy debate, some to-ing and fro-ing and which will either result in agreement of, in the case of cricket, blank apprehension about why anybody could possibly find this marvellous game event he slightest bit dull.
However, as soon as religion hits the market place of discussions items, some people do get very heated indeed. Personal insults, threats of violence and poor grammar are very often directed towards the person who even thinks about questions the very existence of anything even remotely holy. I wonder why this is ?
There seems to be a real deep seated insecurity about religion that must not be questioned, or, in some cases, even thought about questioning. For, if one were to question them it may turn out that the entire construct of religious belief may fall down about peoples feet. And, I'm told, this could not be allowed to happen.
So what of this wafer and the controversy surrounding it. Well, it seems that some people have become very offended by the suggestion that flour and water is just flour and water and is not in fact the body of christ. They feel that their monotheist world view s in danger of collapse and that, all costs, the body of christ, embodied literally in flour and water must be defended. To take a wafer out of a catholic church, without first eating it [is this not cannibalism ?] has been suggested is a hate crime. Yes, I know, It is not a typing error, catholic have suggested that taking a biscuit out of a church is a hate crime. It has also been suggested that not eating said wafer is the same as kidnapping and holding somebody as hostage. Again, no irony nor sarcasm intended. Not a jot.
When I read / hear this kind of twaddle, I start to understand why life is held with such little value. If people are going to put so much energy into protecting a biscuit, and said biscuit is given the same status as, perhaps, your spouse it is frightening to realise how little value the church and associate religious people do put on the value of life.
http://richarddawkins.net/article,2869,MnIndy-interview-Unrepentant-science-heathen-PZ-Myers-still-intends-to-prove-this-cracker-is-nothing,Minnesota-Independent
(0%)
WIDGETIZE